Fritz Eichenberg was a Jewish-German woodcut artist, who, along with living through WWI, was also politically active against Adolph Hitler and the Nazis, ending with his emigration to the United States well before WWII. It was a particularly harsh era in which to be a German; the intensity of those experiences are streaked throughout his work, whether he was illustrating a gothic masterpiece like Wuthering Heights, or his many children's book images.

Though he was Jewish, he became a Quaker and did many Christian illustrations. He taught at a number of famed art schools (including the Pratt Institute), wrote and illustrated for magazines, and did hundreds of plates for books. Along with Frans Masereel, Eichenberg had a fearless and merciless approach to depictions of life; his people are aggressively stern when they are serious, chillingly baleful in their evils, and superbly beatific in their joy.

There are legions more images available to experience than the ones I have below, but these are among my top favourites. These seem appropriate after my recent Barry Moser post...I guess I'm just in this mood. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

(click image to enlarge, then use the arrow keys ← → to change images )